Online gambling and Australian law

Section 15 of the Act is headed "Prohibited interactive gambling services not to be provided to customers in Australia". Section 15(2A) reads: "A person must not provide a prohibited interactive gambling service that has an Australian-customer link (see section 8)." "Civil penalty: 7,500 penalty units."

Section 15(1): "A person commits an offence if:" (a) "the person intentionally provides a prohibited interactive gambling service; and" (b) "the service has an Australian-customer link (see section 8)." "Penalty: 5,000 penalty units."

Section 8: "For the purposes of this Act, a gambling service has an Australian-customer link if, and only if, any or all of the customers of the service are physically present in Australia."

Section 5(1): "For the purposes of this Act, a prohibited interactive gambling service is a gambling service, where:" (a) "the service is provided in the course of carrying on a business; and" (b) "the service is provided to customers using any of the following:" (i) "an internet carriage service;" … The definition continues in section 5 of the Act.

Section 61EA, on advertising, is headed "Designated interactive gambling service advertisements not to be published in Australia"; its offence applies where "the person publishes a designated interactive gambling service advertisement in Australia; and" further conditions are met, "Penalty: 120 penalty units."

These quotes are from Compilation No. 24 (C2024C00646, compilation date 14 Oct 2024), the latest on legislation.gov.au when read on 16 Oct 2026. The same site states: "A future law compilation of this title has been prepared for 1 January 2027 incorporating the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026." ACMA states: "On 19 August 2026, the Australian Parliament passed the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026" and "Most of the reforms commence on 1 January 2027."

ACMA names two tools on its investigations page: it can "give them a formal notice that they broke the rules" and "request internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to the illegal online gambling websites in Australia" (ACMA, read 16 Oct 2026).

On blocking, ACMA states: "We can ask internet service providers to help us disrupt illegal online content by blocking access to websites. This authority is given to us under the Telecommunications Act 1997 (section 313)." One reason it gives for a block is "providing prohibited interactive gambling services to customers in Australia (such as online casinos, online slot machines and services that allow in-play online sports betting)".

ACMA's summary of the Act: "The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 makes it illegal for gambling providers to offer some online services to people in Australia. Banned services include:" "online casinos". Its page for players, under "Illegal online services include:", lists "slots (pokies)" and "casino-style games (like poker, blackjack and roulette)".

For players, ACMA states: "If you use an illegal service, Australian regulators will not be able to help you if:", among other cases, "the service provider withholds your winnings". It adds: "There is also a risk that these websites will be blocked. This means you may not be able to log in and access your existing account."

We check ACMA's list of blocked gambling websites daily; last check 2 Nov 2026.